Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-12-23
PALMER'S BIG PERCHERONS.
Especial to the World. ]

aihler, lne DucOllc senator from Mlcfl-
gan. is one of the great horse fanciers of
the United States. He has 100000 worth
of Percheron horses on his farm near De
troit, and has just started his farm mana
ger, Mr.. Cottrill, on journey to Damas-
Gus to import for him two Arabian stall
lions and three Arabian mares. Mr.. Cot
trill will sail first for Paris, and he will
there have an interview with VI. Charles
du Hays, who is the head of the Bureau
Hippique in the department of agricul-
ture of France. He will find out from
him whether the horses can be procured,
and whether his idea in regard to them is
a practical one. Leaving Paris, Mr.. Cot
trill will go to Marseilles, and see if ar
rangements can be made for the shipping
of the horses from Beyrout to Marseilles
with only one change of vessel. He will
then proceed to Jerusalem, where he will
call upon our consul. Mr.. Gilman, who is
a Detroit man, and will be guided by the
| latter's advice in the selection of the
horses. Mr.. Cottril will also purchase
]
LaPerche.
Senator Palmer intends to cross his
Percheron stock with these Arabian hors-
es, and he is trying very expensive ex-
pertinent in horse-breeding. He says he
hopes by this to be able to establish a
new type. Said he:
"All the thoroughbreds of England
come from three Arabian steeds. They
are the Harley Arabian, the Godolphin
Arabian and another Arabian which do
not now remember. The establishing of
a new type of horses is a very uncertain
matter, and | may not be able to get any
encouragement after long trial. 1t may
be that | will succeed within few years.
and from the product of these Arabian
stations and Percheron mares and from
the Arabian mares and Percheron stall
lions may, by the careful inbreedng of
their progeny, establish a new type of
horses which will be better than either.
Senator Palmer is an enthusiast on the
Percheron horse, and quite romance is
connected with his love for it. The first
Percheron he ever saw were painted ones
and they formed a part of Rosa Bonheur'
noted picture, 1.-The Horse Fair" which
was hanging in Mrs. a. T. Stewards pic
ture gallery at the time. He was so well
pleased with them that he investigated
their character and went personally tC
France to pick out some for his farm
He has now sixty of these animals, rang.
ing in value from 81 900 to $4,000 each
and he is the president of the Percheror
Horse society of the United States
While in France last year he made a
speech to the Percheron Horse-Breeders
society of France, and he thinks that this
horse is the best breed in the world fol
general purposes.
1T is" said he, 1.-THE horse for the far
mer. He can take it from his lumber
wagon and use it on his carriage, and
have been told of instances where Perch
eron horses weighing LOO pounds have
gone mile in three minutes. They are,
you know, distinct type, and are sup
posed to have originated by cross OF
the Arabian horse upon the heavy horse
of Normandy. They came from La
Perche, province about sixty miles
square, in Normandy. Here the breed
has attained its greatest perfection, and
it is here that the horse gets his name
How the Arabian got into France | do
not know, but | suppose it came there
either through the Saracens when they
were whipped by Charles Martel at Tours
or it may be that the Counts of Nogent
de la Rotrou brought them back from
Palestine during the Crusades. But there
is no doubt that the Arab blood is there,
and in modern times, after excellence and
identity of type had been recognized, this
blood was reinforced from time to time
from the royal and national stables OF
France.
''The horses have been noted for years
in France as good draft horses, and they
were, about ten years ago, In general use
in Paris as omnibus horses. At that time
a team Of them would take one Of those
heavy buses, with seats both inside and
on the roof and filled with passengers,
and drag it along at the rate of eight
miles an hour over the asphalt. During
my trip to Paris last spring l noticed a
decided deterioration in the character OF
the horses so used, and | found that the
Percherons had been replaced by others.
Upon inquiry was told that the great
demand for the Percheron horses in Am
erica had raised the price from $500 to
from $500 to $4,000, thus making them
too expensive for omnibus use. The
horses now used i'm Paris omnibuses are
the Boulonais, the Belgians and other
heavy horses of Normandy and Flanders
which have no infiltration Of thorough
bred blood.
"A rapid change has been going on in
horca hraadinU in tho ITnitad Statas and